Rivers Flashcards
(78 cards)
1
Q
River beginning with S
A
Severn
2
Q
River beginning with Th
A
Thames
3
Q
River beginning with Tr
A
Trent
4
Q
River beginning with O
A
Ouse
5
Q
River beginning with W
A
Wye
6
Q
River beginning with E
A
Exe
7
Q
River beginning with Te
A
Tees
8
Q
River beginning with Ta
A
Tay
9
Q
River beginning with C
A
Clyde
10
Q
River beginning with S
A
Spey
11
Q
Lowland area in Somerset
A
The Somerset Levels
12
Q
Lowland area beginning with f
A
The Fens
13
Q
Lowland area in Yorkshire
A
The Vale of York
14
Q
Upland areas in the lakes
A
Lake District
15
Q
Upland area in wales
A
Snowdonia
16
Q
Upland area (local)
A
Pennines
17
Q
Upland area in south Scotland
A
Southern uplands
18
Q
Upland areas in north Scotland
A
North West Highlands
19
Q
Upland area beginning with c
A
Cairngorms
20
Q
Landforms of the upper course
A
Gorges, waterfalls, v-shaped valleys
21
Q
Landforms of the middle course
A
meanders, oxbow lakes, floodplains
22
Q
Landforms of the lower course
A
meanders, large floodplains
23
Q
Word beginning with ‘f’ that means river processes
A
Fluvial processes
24
Q
The breakdown and removal of a material (rock) by an agent (the river)
A
Erosion
25
Erosion downwards
Vertical erosion
26
Erosion horizontally
Lateral erosion
27
What is hydraulic action and when is it most effective?
The force of water hitting river beds/banks forces air into cracks, the air is put under pressure forcing the cracks to expand and the rock to eventually break up. Most effective when the water is moving fast and there is a lot of it.
28
Attrition?
Where stones carried by the river knock against each other, eventually making the stones smaller, smoother and more round
29
Abrasion (think sandpaper)
When the load carried by the river hits/scrapes against the bed or banks and dislodges particles into the floor of the river.
30
Transportation
The displacement of material in the river, the river load- there are 4 methods a river does this
31
Traction
Large pebbles/ boulders are pushed or dragged along the river bed by the force of the water
32
Suspension
Small particles like silt and clay are carried and held in the water column
33
Saltation
Small stones, pebbles and silt are bounced along the river bed by the force of the water
34
Solution
Soluble materials such as salts dissolve in the water and are carried along
35
Deposition
Deposition occurs when the velocity decreases so it no longer has enough energy to transport its sediment so it is deposited.
36
1/4 reasons for deposition (volume)
The volume of water in a river falling
37
2/4 reasons for deposition (erosion)
The quantity of eroded material in the water increasing
38
3/4 reasons for deposition (shallow)
The water becoming shallower such as on the inside of a meander bend
39
4/4 reasons for deposition (confluence)
The river reaching its mouth or a confluence with another river
40
deposition (upper course)
Larger rocks tend to be deposited in the upper course, they are only transported short distances by traction in times of high flow.
41
deposition (middle-lower course)
Finer sediment is carried further downstream, mostly via suspension. It is deposited on the river banks or beds where river velocity is slowed by traction
42
deposition (mouth)
A large amount of deposition occurs at the mouth, the velocity is slowed by the interaction with seawater and a very gentle gradient.
43
Word beginning with 'f' occurring at a river's mouth
Flocculation is the reaction of clay particles and sea water that causes the clay to clump up, become heavier and sink which results in their deposition
44
Transpiration
Loss of water from vegetation
45
Evaporation
Process by which liquid is converted into vapour by heating
46
Precipitation
All forms of water that falls from the sky
47
Evapotranspiration
Amount of moisture removed by evaporation and transpiration from a land surface
48
Percolation
Downward vertical movement of water within rock, rate depends on the size of the pores through which the water travels
49
Groundwater storage
Water that is stored beneath the earth's surface in permeable rock and soil, e.g. an aquifer
50
Infiltration
Passage of water into the surface layers of soil by gravity and capillary action. Decreases as soil becomes more saturated.
51
Groundwater flow
Water that moves downslope through groundwater storage, often emerging as a spring at the side of the valley
52
Surface runoff
Outcome of rainfall intensity on a slope being greater than the rate at which the water can infiltrate into the soil.
53
Interception
Precipitation that is prevented from falling directly onto the soil surface by a layer of vegetation
54
Water table
If permeable rocks exist under the soil they get saturated with water, this is the name given to the upper boundary of this saturated area
55
Surface storage
Store of water that forms on the surface of the ground, like lakes/puddles/ponds and is often due to high rainfall
56
River Discharge
Volume of water in a river passing a measuring point at a given time, calculated by multiplying velocity of the river by the cross-sectional area
57
Unit of river discharge
cubic meters per second or cumecs
58
Name for the point at which a river starts
Source
59
Name for the point at which a river meets the sea
Mouth
60
Name for a small stream flowing into a river
A tributary
61
Name for the point at which a tributary meets the river
A confluence
62
Name for the line around an area where if a raindrop falls it will end up in this river
Water shed
63
Name for area inside a water shed
catchment/ drainage basin
64
Interlocking spurs
Projections of high land that alternate from either side of the valley
65
Igneous rock
Hard rock formed from magma
66
Examples of soft rock
Limestone/ sedimentary rock
67
Name for erosion behind a waterfall
undercutting
68
Name for area where a water goes after its fallen off a waterfall
Plunge pool
69
Helicoidal flow
Corkscrew flow of water due to disturbance in the river bed which is why water flows faster on the outside of a bend
70
Oxbow lake
Lake formed from a flooded meander that took a shortcut
71
Bits of land either side of a floodplain
River bluffs
72
Sediment deposited by a river
Alluvial sediment
73
Landform left by an evaporated oxbow lake
Meander scar
74
Levées
Deposited sediment after hundreds of years of flooding that builds up on either side of the river
75
Open mouth of a river where it meets the sea
An estuary
76
How does a waterfall form?
Igneous hard rock next to sedimentary soft rock, river erodes soft rock vertically creating a step in the river, this forms a waterfall
77
How does a plunge pool form?
Plunge pools form due to hydraulic action as the water falling off the step forces air into cracks in the ground below- forming a plunge pool
78
How does a gorge form?
Erosion under-cuts the soft rock below the igneous rock until the igneous rock becomes unstable and falls under gravity, leaving behind steep walls either side of where the rock used to be. The waterfall then moves upstream where the process begins again and over hundreds and thousands of years a gorge forms
